1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an inflatable suspension harness/body jacket for use in medical applications, and especially is directed to an inflatable suspension harness/body jacket for use in medical partial weight-bearing therapy, where the jacket can be inflated to provide a tight, conforming fit to the wearer. The harness/body jacket is useful in a variety of medical applications, including alleviating conditions which may give rise to decubitus ulcers, or “pressure sores,” in persons confined to a wheelchair, assisting medical personnel in the handling and treatment of incapacitated persons, and aiding incapacitated persons (including, without limitation, hemiplegic and paraplegic persons) during therapy and recovery.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Partial weight-bearing therapy is a common means of rehabilitation for patients afflicted by stroke, spinal cord injury, joint replacement, back pain, obesity, arthritis, or amputation. The therapy generally involves lifting a patient by means of a harness to offload a determined amount of weight from the patient's lower extremities. The harness generally is integral to a vest that is fitted to the patient. To accommodate the variety of body types and sizes, current vest harnesses rely on cinching straps or compressive netting in conjunction with differently sized vests.
Unfortunately, these methods do not always accommodate differently-sized patients. Many patients find the vest harness to be uncomfortable because of the limitations in achieving a tight conforming fit, that is, a fit that closely follows the precise body plan of the individual patient, including vagaries of curvature. Without a tight conforming fit, however, the harness vest likely will slip and “ride up” on the patient. In addition to resulting in discomfort, such “riding up” could inhibit breathing and restrict circulation, possibly exacerbating the condition for which the patient is receiving partial weight-bearing therapy, in the first place.
Still further, in the present technology, any change in the tight conforming fit of the harness/vest resulting from the partial weight-bearing therapy itself requires temporarily halting the therapy, disengaging the patient from any apparatus associated therewith (to which the harness is attached), and readjusting the fit of the harness/vest. That is, where the harness/vest loses its initial tight conforming fit as a result of the movements of the patient during therapy, the therapy must be discontinued, the patient disengaged from any apparatus, and either the cinching straps readjusted, or (particularly in the case of a compressive netting vest) the entire harness/vest replaced. This results, at the very least, in a discontinuity in the therapy. More likely, the benefits of the particular therapy session prior to the loss of fit are lost.
What is needed is a harness/body jacket (or vest) for use in partial weight-bearing therapy and other related medical applications, that can provide a tight conforming fit for differently-sized patients. What is further needed is a harness/body jacket (or vest) for use in partial weight-bearing therapy and other related medical applications, which allows for the tight conforming fit to be readjusted easily after the vest/harness has been placed on the patient, and the offloading has commenced, without requiring the therapy to be discontinued.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an inflatable suspension harness/body jacket for use in partial weight-bearing therapy and other related medical applications, that can provide a tight conforming fit for differently-sized patients. The present invention also provides an inflatable suspension harness/body jacket for use in partial weight-bearing therapy and other related medical applications, which allows for the tight conforming fit to be readjusted easily after the vest/harness has been placed on the patient, and the offloading has commenced, without requiring the therapy to be discontinued. The present invention also provides a method of using the inflatable suspension harness/body jacket to achieve the required tight conforming fit, and whereby the tight conforming fit can be re-achieved, where necessary, through re-inflation or deflation of the inflatable suspension harness/body jacket, without discontinuing the therapy for an extended period of time or removing the patient from the therapy apparatus.